TripperFan
11-20-2007, 01:11 PM
TV Pitchman "Mr. Whipple" Dies In L.A.
Tuesday November 20, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff
You've probably never heard of actor Dick Wilson and you likely can't recall ever seeing him in any movies. But he's been a fixture in the lives of TV watchers for years under another moniker you might be more familiar with: "Mr. Whipple." The man who told thousands of customers, "Please don't squeeze the Charmin!" has died.
Wilson passed away from natural causes at the Motion Picture And Television Fund Hospital on Monday. He was 91. Over the years, he was a classic character actor in dozens of TV sitcoms, appearing in episodes of "Bewitched", "Hogan's Heroes", "The Bob Newhart Show" and a score of Walt Disney productions.
But it was his commercial pitch with the now famous phrase that turned him into an unforgettable legend. Wilson made more 500 of the spots over the length of the 21-year-long toilet paper campaign, which started in 1964 and didn't end until 1985, a rarity in the world of commercials. He came back for an 'encore' in 1999, before those animated bears finally took over.
The commercials made manufacturer Proctor and Gamble a lot of money and turned Wilson into an unexpected cultural icon.
The spots were always the same. Whipple would confront a customer hugging the package, only to admonish them with the phrase, "Please don't squeeze the Charmin!" In nearly every case, he wound up committing the same sin himself before the 30-second drama was over.
Wilson remained circumspect about his claim to fame. "Everybody says, 'Where did they find you?' I say I was never lost. I've been an actor for 55 years," he told the San Francisco Examiner in 1985. "It's the hardest thing to do in the entire acting realm. You've got 24 seconds to introduce yourself, introduce the product, say something nice about it and get off gracefully."
The company acknowledged Wilson as being a major contributor to the success of the product, calling the bespectacled T.P. salesman "one of the most recognizable faces in the history of American advertising."
What you may not know is that Wilson had a major Canadian connection. He moved here as a child from England and served in the Canadian Air Force in WWII, before pursing an acting career and becoming a U.S. citizen in 1954.
He leaves behind a wife, a son, two daughters - and that famous phrase.
Tuesday November 20, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff
You've probably never heard of actor Dick Wilson and you likely can't recall ever seeing him in any movies. But he's been a fixture in the lives of TV watchers for years under another moniker you might be more familiar with: "Mr. Whipple." The man who told thousands of customers, "Please don't squeeze the Charmin!" has died.
Wilson passed away from natural causes at the Motion Picture And Television Fund Hospital on Monday. He was 91. Over the years, he was a classic character actor in dozens of TV sitcoms, appearing in episodes of "Bewitched", "Hogan's Heroes", "The Bob Newhart Show" and a score of Walt Disney productions.
But it was his commercial pitch with the now famous phrase that turned him into an unforgettable legend. Wilson made more 500 of the spots over the length of the 21-year-long toilet paper campaign, which started in 1964 and didn't end until 1985, a rarity in the world of commercials. He came back for an 'encore' in 1999, before those animated bears finally took over.
The commercials made manufacturer Proctor and Gamble a lot of money and turned Wilson into an unexpected cultural icon.
The spots were always the same. Whipple would confront a customer hugging the package, only to admonish them with the phrase, "Please don't squeeze the Charmin!" In nearly every case, he wound up committing the same sin himself before the 30-second drama was over.
Wilson remained circumspect about his claim to fame. "Everybody says, 'Where did they find you?' I say I was never lost. I've been an actor for 55 years," he told the San Francisco Examiner in 1985. "It's the hardest thing to do in the entire acting realm. You've got 24 seconds to introduce yourself, introduce the product, say something nice about it and get off gracefully."
The company acknowledged Wilson as being a major contributor to the success of the product, calling the bespectacled T.P. salesman "one of the most recognizable faces in the history of American advertising."
What you may not know is that Wilson had a major Canadian connection. He moved here as a child from England and served in the Canadian Air Force in WWII, before pursing an acting career and becoming a U.S. citizen in 1954.
He leaves behind a wife, a son, two daughters - and that famous phrase.